The Dragon Masks

The Dragon Masks are five ancient, highly coveted magical artifacts of immense power, each corresponding to one of the five chromatic dragon colors (Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White). Long sought after by dark forces across the Sword Coast, these artifacts represent a catastrophic threat to the stability of the North if they fall into the wrong hands. When donned, a mask grants its bearer great power against dragons of its matching color, specifically allowing them to influence their minds and directly control them.

According to the spymaster Lucian Nightshade, fighting dragons is an incredibly difficult endeavor because they are highly intelligent, anticipate ambushes, and fly exceptionally fast. To successfully defeat a dragon, adventurers must either match its aerial speed or find a way to keep it grounded—a feat that can be accomplished by using the corresponding Dragon Mask of its color.

The Creation and the Ancient War

Three hundred years ago, a coalition of chromatic dragons devastated the fledgling cities of the Sword Coast, prompting the creation of the Lord’s Alliance. Luskan chose to submit and pay tribute, but the allied forces stood firm, aided by a legendary band of heroes including Elminster Aumar (the Sage of Shadowdale), Lady Tanager Alagondar of Neverwinter, Esfaloth Nightbreeze (the Fey-Touched), Gorion of Candlekeep, Kiara Shadowbreaker, Uther Vendrock, and the Firbolg cleric Hrothgar Hillsfar of Kuldahar.

To combat the terrifying dragon threat, Elminster constructed the five Dragon Masks. The heroes successfully used the masks to influence and banish three of the great wyrms across the world:

The masks worked perfectly against almost all their targets, except for the wily Green dragon, Virethas, the Jade Queen (also known as the Jade Serpent, Villathas, or Villethas). Because the Green Dragon Mask failed to influence her mind, Virethas had to be dealt with directly. She was ultimately slain in a great battle outside Neverwinter by Lady Tanager Alagondar, who tragically died in the process.

The White dragon, Cryovain, “the Everfrost,” was banished to the Throat of the World in the far north. Following the war, Hrothgar left Cryovain under instructions to remain in the north, trusting the warmth of Kuldahar’s great World Tree to counter the wyrm’s icy effect on nature.

To prevent the masks from ever being reunited or misused, the heroes kept their locations strictly separated, ensuring no single person knew where all five were hidden. In later centuries, Esfaloth Nightbreeze would note that the eventual wane of the masks’ power might explain why Cryovain was finally able to break free and return south.

Hrothgar’s Sacrifice and the Fate of the White Mask

Hrothgar personally took charge of the White Dragon Mask, burying it within his own empty grave in a tomb by the shores of Lac Dinneshere (alternatively spelled Lac Dinnershear), a frozen lake near Kuldahar in Icewind Dale.

Hoping to protect the secret Firbolg community of Kuldahar and shield his family from any future draconic revenge, Hrothgar volunteered to have his own memory wiped. His friend, the Archmage Elminster Aumar, cast a powerful combination of Modify Memory and True Polymorph, transforming the giant Firbolg into an aging human farmer named “Farwald.” For centuries, Farwald lived in peaceful ignorance of his past, until a fateful encounter with Cryovain—who had escaped the cult’s grasp and returned south to the Sword Mountains—triggered the unraveling of his mental wards. Farwald’s memories were later fully restored at Helm’s Hold by the halfling cleric Sandra.

Following his restoration, Farwald cast Augury to determine if pursuing the White Dragon Mask alongside his companion Nalini would yield a favorable outcome. The smoke of his incense shaped itself into the image of a white dragonbone mask hovering above his empty tomb, confirming a “Weal” result. Meanwhile, Farwald sent a magical Sending message to his old war comrade Kiara Shadowbreaker, now ruling Keoland, warning her that the cult is hunting the masks. Kiara replied that she might know the location of the Red Dragon Mask and would look into it through a contact.

Meanwhile, the actual White Dragon Mask remained safe, which severely complicated the plans of the Cult of the Dragon. Cultists attempted to subjugate Cryovain, but Cryovain seized the opportunity to escape and fly south to the Sword Mountains. Talis is currently in jail, safely hidden in the high-security cells of Prisoner’s Isles in the Peninsula District.

The Stolen Red Mask of Mintarn

While the banishment of Skaldreth kept the Red Rage at bay, the actual Red Dragon Mask was kept on the island of Mintarn. However, this security was breached when the Red Dragon Mask went missing. Kiara Shadowbreaker later attempted to locate the mask using divination magic, only to discover that the artifact was completely missing from the Material Plane.

The Cult of the Dragon’s Crusade and the Wyrmspeakers

The Cult of the Dragon, a sinister organization, actively hunts the Sword Coast to uncover the locations of the hidden masks. By acquiring these five artifacts, the cult intends to subjugate the remaining chromatic dragons and resurrect the green dragon Virethas as a Dracolich. Cultists wearing red masks in the shape of a dragon were responsible for the murder of Elire Stork, sister of the noble Gilmore Stork, in their effort to retrieve a soulstone pendant.

The leaders of the cult’s regional operations are known as Wyrmspeakers. Sidorna served as the Green Wyrmspeaker, while a day-walking dragonborn known as the Jade Wyrmspeaker worked with Nezznar the Spider to secure the Forge of Spells.

During a tense audience before Neverwinter’s Small Council, the heroes had to carefully guard their words. A slip of the tongue by Gilmore regarding “ways to control the dragon” nearly exposed the existence of the secret masks to the council, though a clever deception managed to gloss over the threat.

The Ambush at Dragon Barrow and the Fate of the Green Mask

During a confrontation deep beneath Dragon Barrow—which was revealed to be the actual skeletal remains of Virethas herself—the Cult of the Dragon, led by the Green Wyrmspeaker Sidorna, ambushed Gilmore and his allies. Multiple cultists joined the fray wearing black, blue, and red dragon masks, alongside a powerful monk. Two invisible cultists in masks also guarded the main entrance to the barrow.

In a desperate bid to complete a resurrection ritual using the soul of Gilmore’s sister, Elire, Sidorna was cornered and blinded by a giant frog summoned by Nalini. At death’s door, Sidorna tore the Green Dragon Mask from her own face and tossed it to her final surviving cultist, who donned it and stepped into the ritual circle as a willing sacrifice. This final blood offering successfully completed the ritual at 66% strength, resurrecting Virethas in a weakened, skeletal adult form.

Crucially, the magic of the ritual combined the soul of Elire, the essence of Virethas, and the power of the Green Dragon Mask itself. This fusion resulted in a catastrophic anomaly: the controller of the dragon became the dragon itself, breaking the artifact’s intended purpose of external control and binding its power permanently to the newly risen, skeletal Jade Queen, who subsequently took flight into the autumn sky.